Marshawn Kneeland Wore His Mother’s Ashes in a Necklace After Her Death 1 Year Before His Own

The second-year Dallas Cowboys defensive end died on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at the age of 24

Anna Lazarus Caplan is a writer-reporter for PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work previously appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News, Eater and other publications.

• Marshawn Kneeland’s mother Wendy died in February 2024, two months before he was drafted into the NFL
• The Cowboys defensive end died on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at the age of 24
• Kneeland scored a touchdown two days earlier on Monday Night Football

Marshawn Kneeland’s mother Wendy died unexpectedly just before the late Cowboys defensive end was drafted into the NFL last year.

Marshawn, who died Wednesday night at the age of 24, wore his mother’s ashes in a necklace around his neck, keeping close her memory — and her encouragement as he fulfilled his lifelongdream to become a Dallas Cowboy.

“It was definitely tough,” Marshawn told The Dallas Morning News in 2024 about her death from an undisclosed illness. “I just managed it. She helped me a lot in my younger years getting into football. I always had the dream. I always told her, ‘I’m going to the NFL’ and I made it.”

He continued at the time, “It’s a hard situation just knowing she got to see me potentially going to the NFL and going through [the process]. She’s still with me. I got this urn of her ashes I carry with me everywhere. I still feel like she’s there watching over me.”

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Wendy Kneeland died on Feb. 18, 2024, just as her son was at the NFL combine, preparing for the draft.

Two months later, the Cowboys selected Marshawn as the 56th overall pick in the second round.

In his rookie season, Marshawn appeared in 11 games and recorded 14 tackles.

But this season, in the wake of the Cowboys trade which sent star Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, Kneeland’s profile rose.

Just 48 hours before his death, he scored his first NFL touchdown on Monday Night Football in the game against the Arizona Cardinals.

After the Cowboys blocked a Cardinals punt, the ball deflected into the end zone — and Kneeland was the first to land on it, scoring on a rare special teams play.

“The thing I could do now is just make her proud and go there and be great in the NFL and keep pushing forward with her name,” he told ABC affiliate WZZM-TV last year.